Photo By Lisa Crawford | Nebraska National Guard Soldiers with the 2-134th Infantry train for airborne...... read more read more
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Native Americans have greatly shaped the character and cultural heritage of our nation, and we strive to recognize the contributions of our Native American Soldiers. Past and present, they have served with honor, dedication and distinction, professionalism and selfless service that inspires all others who serve and generations to come.
November is recognized as American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month, a time to celebrate, honor and reflect on the rich and diverse history, culture and heritage of American Indians and Alaska Natives. In the Nebraska Army National Guard, currently 29 Soldiers – less than 1 percent – self-identify as American Indian or Alaska Native. One such individual is Col. Todd Stevens, the most recent former commander of the 67th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade.
Stevens, a proud member of the Ogallala Sioux tribe out of Pine Ridge, South Dakota, said he grew up listening to the stories of his great grandmother and her sister going to Indian boarding schools, and being punished severely just for speaking Lakota to other kids.
“She’s probably one of the strongest women I’ve met outside of my mother,” he said. “She was very tenderhearted but firm. While Stevens is a very English name, my great-grandmother’s mother’s name was Ellen Blue Shawl. And I still have photos of my grandmother on her back on a backboard working in the garden.”
Stevens said he believes learning about the past – especially your own personal heritage, or the heritage of the organization you belong to – is important to becoming an authentic person preserving culture.
“It’s important for people to recognize their heritage, and have those types of connections so they understand how they got here, where they come from, and some of the driving factors in what their make-up is as a person,” he added.
When Stevens first took command of the 67th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade in 2018, he traced the history of the unit back into the mid 1800’s and learned then Territorial Governor, Mr. Mark Izard, gave Brig. Gen. John Thayer the authorization to raise the First Nebraska Volunteers to afford ample protection to the frontier settlements in the Nebraska Territory against hostile acts by Sioux Indians.
“So, while the First Nebraska – the founding of this Nebraska Brigade – stood up due to hostile Sioux Indians… the unit has now been commanded by an Ogallala Sioux Indian,” Stevens said during his recent change of command ceremony in October 2020. “This is truly the land of opportunity, and this is America at its finest.”
Stevens said he joined the Army National Guard in 1987 for two reasons: money for college, and for a deeper reason, to follow some family military tradition – including his father who served in the Navy – and other family members who served. While he never imaged he stay in as long as he has, he said the most rewarding experience of his career has been being able to swear-in all three of his kids into the Nebraska Army National Guard.
“First my daughter, Megan, then both my sons, Dalton and Colton,” he said. “We’re three for three – with a proud military spouse and an even prouder military mother at home.”
Tradition is what leads many to join the military, but for Nebraska Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Samantha Garcia, with Co. D, 39th Brigade Support Battalion, Forward Support Company for the 134th Cavalry Squadron, a lack of immediate family service added to her desire to give back.
“I always felt that as a citizen, it was my duty and right to serve and give my service to the country that gives its citizens so many rights and liberties many countries don’t know,” Garcia said. “I also want to help secure those liberties and rights to future generations.”
Garcia said she wanted to join the military service as a child, and while many previous generations of her family had served in various branches, she didn’t know anyone in her immediate family who was in the military.
“I wanted to change that,” she added.
When she was older, and decided she wanted to go to college, she chose to join the Nebraska National Guard so she could serve while attending school.
Like Stevens, Garcia said the observance is an important time to take inventory of your heritage. She said growing up her mother did not share much with her about her heritage beyond being part of the Hopi tribe in Arizona, where she was born. When she reached adulthood at 19, Garcia said she pursued tribal affiliation and has since been researching to learn more about where she came from.
“I think it also helps serve as a reminder of where our country came from and some of the issues Native Americans face, but also of how proud we are in our heritage and traditions.”
November also marks one year since the Nebraska Army National Guard officially activated the 2-134th Infantry. Earlier this year, Nebraska Army National Guard Soldiers with the 2-134th Infantry conducted airborne operations training at the Mead Training Site in Yutan, Nebraska, in preparation for a National Airborne Day jump. Following the training, the battalion hosted a ceremony in which Lakota braves Russ Cournoyer and Lante Swallow performed two songs and presented a Tokala staff to the unit in a long standing Native American tradition, representing the induction of the battalion into the Tokala Society.
According to Cournoyer, the words of one of the songs performed translates to: “I am a Tokala. I am ready. Anytime, anyplace, anywhere.”
A Tokala is the strongest of men in the Kit Fox Warrior Society. Created by a U.S. Army Veteran Nick Gibbons, the cedar staff has the face of a warrior carved into it, is adorned with fox and a single eagle feather, plus the insignia of the 2-134th Infantry.
If the battalion should participate in an overseas campaign in the future, they will add a feather and a patch to the staff, commemorating that deployment.
In an exchange of gifts, Lt. Col. Ted Hanger, commander of the 2-134th Infantry, presented a miniature replica of the battalion colors to each of the ceremony participants, and explained how they were designed based on the heritage of the warrior spirit, including an eagle clutching arrows, the unit’s airborne insignia, and the words “Mahpiya Etanhan,” meaning “From the Sky.”
“I think it’s so fitting that the song that you sang said anytime, anywhere that we can go and we can execute our mission, and we really are a warrior battalion, that’s what we’re intended to do,” Hanger said.
The ceremony was intended to bring together the brave warrior culture of our nation and carry that spirit forward within the new battalion.
| Date Taken: | 11.27.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 11.27.2020 18:22 |
| Story ID: | 383891 |
| Location: | LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, US |
| Hometown: | ROCK PORT, MISSOURI, US |
| Web Views: | 416 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Carrying the Warrior Spirit forward in the Nebraska National Guard, by Lisa Crawford, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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